Council recognizes Arbor Day with proclamation

Tree Board Chairman Ton Von Seggern reads the proclamation recognizing Arbor Day during Tuesday's regular Sidney City Council meeting. This is the 30th straight year the city has been recognized as a Tree City USA community.

The Sidney City Council had a proclamation read recognizing Arbor Day during Tuesday evening's regular meeting in preparation for its upcoming 30th annual tree giveaway celebration later this month.

According to the proclamation, Arbor Day began in 1872 when J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture "that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees," and was first observed with the planting of "more than a million trees" across the state.

In Nebraska, Arbor Day is generally observed on the last Friday of April, which this year is April 29.